


Illusion of the Day

by ammyamarant



Series: Night and the Day [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Drinking, Eye Trauma, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mind Control, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Vampirestuck, Vomiting, a lot more f/f content than you expect from the summary, now with illustrations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26609092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammyamarant/pseuds/ammyamarant
Summary: He didn't know why he went so far out of town to that weird club, even if Vriska said he had to be there. He didn't know what happened while he was there. And now, everything is different. Everything is wrong.And Karkat doesn't know why.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Feferi Peixes/Vriska Serket
Series: Night and the Day [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963237
Comments: 37
Kudos: 44





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuses. Please have the song that spawned this: [Dark of the Day by Semblant.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AamdEYGZwFA)

"Hey, Vantas. I know a place you neeeeeeeed to be tonight."

  


* * *

  


Well this place was in the Way the Fuck Out of Nowhere in Fucksallville. And could it be anymore of a tryhard goth club? How many tattoos and piercing did that girl have?

Karkat could try his best to pretend more, but something about this club out in the middle of nowhere set off all his mental alarms. Why was he here, anyway? It was the furthest thing from a club he would actually want to go to, and he didn't go to clubs. Too many people. So what had possessed him to drive all the fuck way out here?

… the fire dancers were pretty cool.

Fuck this. He turned to get back in his car. He had no reason to be here, and the entire thing just… felt so wrong.

"Kaaaaaaaarkat!" A familiar voice rang through the air, and a strong hand wrapped around his forearm. "I knew you'd come," Vriska said as he turned around, her usual wild grin stretched wide under the spiderweb veil, long black hair wild over her shoulders. "Come on. The show's about to start soon. I know you won't want to miss this."

He snorted, pulling his arm free. "Fuck that. I'm going home."

Vriska shifted her weight, making her black sleeveless dress shimmer in the firelight. Karkat noticed distantly that whatever was shimmering formed a spiderweb. Because of course the spider obsessed bitch would have a spiderweb anywhere she could put one. "No, I think you're going to come in."

Karkat stared at her for a moment, then shook his head as he pulled out his car keys. "I don't fucking think you realize you can't throw around your weight here, Serket. No one gives two fucks. I'm-"

There were two piercings in her right lip that flashed as she spoke, Karkat suddenly noticed as she said… something. Before he knew it, he put his keys back in his pocket as he walked past the fire dancers, barely able to see Vriska's shimmering spiderweb in the darkness of the club. There were more people inside, and even that faint glimmer blended in with the rest of the black clothing pressed together. His shoulders drew together as he realized just how many people were pressed in there. Distantly, the sound of guitars wove a blanket over the rumble of conversation around him, melding it into one big nothing. No, he was getting out of there.

"Going somewhere?"

Surprised, Karkat looked up into a familiar stupid smirk over an equally stupid scarf. "Ampora…?" What was Eridan doing in a place like this?

"You just got here," he said, starting to reach out before a clearing of a throat behind Karkat made him stop. "Oh, your guest, _Serket_?"

That made Karkat spin around, right into Vriska's sharp smile. "Of course. You can find your own guest." She pushed something into Karkat's hands, making him grasp it out of instinct as she let go and turned. "The best part is about to begin!"

Karkat looked down at what was in his hands, noticing with surprise it looked like a glass of red wine. Yeah, he did sometimes have a beer once and a while but not in a place like- oh fuck it. If he was going to be stuck here, he was going to enjoy this. He managed to take a sip before Vriska pulled him closer to the sound of guitars. He rolled his eyes as he could hear guttural vocals as they drew closer. Of course.

At least he had alcohol to deal with this. He took another sip as Vriska let him go, wrinkling his nose at the taste. Didn't really taste like what he expected red wine to taste like. But he couldn't deal with this shit sober. So another drink.

Distantly something yelled at him, telling him to put the booze down and get the fuck out of there. Don't get drunk. Don't stay. Something was fucking wrong. Get out.

But, almost like he couldn't stop himself, he took another sip. It was starting to taste… okay. He could feel people pressing in around him, and that made him take another sip.

This isn't right, the part yelled at him. You don't fucking drink this fast, ever. You're almost guzzling it down. Get out. Go. Fucking leave.

But his arm lifted, tipping more of the liquid into his mouth.

The sound of the music surrounded him, beating hard in his head, and he started hearing melodies under it, over it, inside-

Was he being _drugged_ by the spider bitch?! Is this how she got her rocks off?

He could feel cold hands on his shoulders, breath against his neck. He exhaled, letting his head be tilted, not able to do anything else-

Oh that was a wall holding him up. No, that was a person, holding him to the wall. And they knocked the glass out of his hand, splattering the last of it against the floor. A cold hand touched his cheek, forcing his gaze upward into a pair of aviators. He heard air being sucked between teeth, almost a hiss. "Who brought you here?" a somewhat familiar male voice asked.

"He's my guest."

The person (guy?) in front of him snorted, but didn't move. "Not tonight."

That was a hiss. And sudden movement, pulled to one side. He thought that would make him nauseous, but nothing. He felt…

"What, do you have a _claim_ on him?"

"Nah, that's stupid trad shit. I just want to fuck your spider bitch ass up. Pick someone else here to be your guest.

He could almost hear the audible smirk in Vriska's voice. "Then what are you going to do with him? He had over half of it."

"Take him home."

A pause, then Vriska let out the loudest raucous laughter that stabbed through his head. Too loud, too many unheard heard crystalline notes in each laugh-

"So noble. I look forward to tomorrow's news."

What did she mean by that? Uhp, never mind, whoever was holding him up was putting Karkat's arm over his shoulders and helping him out. "Don't fucking need help," Karkat said, too aware his shout was a lot less… loud and forceful than usual. "I can fucking walk. Who are you? What was that shit?"

"Good. Keep yelling in my ear."

He could do that. He could scream all of it. "Don't know what the fuck she put in my drink." A sudden thought came to him, sharp in the fuzz. "The news? What the fuck did she mean? Where are you taking me?"

"Okay, I recognize that heap of shit you call a car. So you drove here. Where are your keys…"

Hands in places they shouldn't be. "Get your fucking hand out of…"

A pinch on his hip made him squeak as he heard keys jingling. "Keep talking. Don't fall asleep."

"You don't tell me what the fuck to do."

"Just like that."

Even though he could barely feel his arms, he managed to turn one hand upward, middle finger majestically extended.

"I mean, if you're willing later. Right now, I just need to get you… somewhere. Not here. Fuck." There was a moment of silence as Karkat noticed his car getting closer "Do you live with anyone?"

Yeah. He lived with the derp twins until he got his feet under him and could get a place on his own.

"Hey." Another pinch.

"Don't fucking do that." He really didn't like how his voice kept getting quieter despite yelling.

"Don't care, as long as it keeps you talking. Okay, you probably should be around us anyway in case- fucking open- I have no clue how you keep this running."

Oh, that was a seat. And a seatbelt. For a moment, everything was quiet and still and it just let him loudly know just how fucked he was. Who was taking him where? Then he heard a very familiar cough-spit of his car starting up. Then another pinch. "The fuck is wrong with you?" Karkat snapped, trying his best to put heat and volume behind the words.

"Why don't you tell me? Bet we can make a song out of it."

"You're so goddamn annoying." That was louder. "And I don't even know where you're taking me. What did Vriska mean about that shit? Hey, don't just stay quiet, asshole. Answer my fucking questions." Okay, stay quiet. He wanted to know- fuck, what was with those pinches? "What's your damage?"

"Hey, we were just getting to the good part of the song. Keep going, man."

Oh he could. He could say something about the stupid- "Ow! Fucking stop pinching me! What's wrong with you? You fucking asshole. Why are you doing this shit anyway? Where are we going?" Hey, those were lights. Street lights. And he recognized the buildings. They were back in town.

"Hey, if you're that stoked about where we're going, why don't you tell me all about it?"

"I'm not fucking 'stoked' about it, asshole." He wanted to go home…

The car came to a sputtering stop as it was turned off. He felt himself being picked up, like a bride (this person had to be strong to pick him up in a bridal carry, a part of him warned), and then- very. Very fast motion. Very fast.

He barely noticed when it all stopped and he was put down. On his back, who knew where, only to be propped back up, arm across his back holding him in a sitting position. Something was put to his lips, and he didn't want to drink it but it started going down his throat anyway and he was going to puke right here, right now. Something was shoved under his face as he vomited, and he noticed uneasily what came up was very dark red. Dark red in a… wastebasket?

"Oh good." The voice was becoming more familiar, and more relieved. "Come on, drinky drinky the puke medicine."

"Fuck you."

"Maybe after you brush your teeth." And more to his lips, down his throat, and back up, more red. "Come on, little more."

This time, it stayed down, and the… whatever was put down somewhere. Karkat blinked, hazy, as he realized he was in someone's room. Dark. He could see something out of the corner of his eye, gleaming in the low light. He looked over at whoever was holding him up, and only saw a dark shape, the edges lined in pale skin from the barely there light. "I don't know why Serket wanted you there. You're not her type. I know at least John will miss you."

The fuzzy drugged feeling had been stripped away from so much puking at he felt chills at those words. "The fuck do you mean?" he asked, his words slurring slightly.

Whoever it was laid him back down (on a mattress, he noticed). "You're probably going to be sick for a few days. When you can sit up without puking, I'll take you back to wherever you're living. Until then, get some sleep. And Karkat." His eyes had adjusted enough that he could tell glasses or something were being pulled down. Red eyes met his, piercing, inviting.

"Don't ever go there again."

  


* * *

  


He expected this shit from Eridan. Not Vriska. She was so careful about who she chose. Eridan had to get Feferi to smack sense into him about his guests.

Damn it. And now he had a really good smelling Karkat in his bed. Good thing the couch was pretty comfortable, he thought as went to lay down on said couch, because he knew if he tried to sleep next to him, the cutie in his bed would wake up about a pint less in the tank. With what Vriska had fed him, he couldn't take that risk. It wouldn't take that much to push him over the edge, even with how much came back up because not all of it came back up.

That last drink should have had him puking clear. The fact it stayed down… that wasn't good. If things went wrong, that could seriously fuck his system up. But Karkat still felt warm, and his eyes hadn't changed yet, so-

"Kid, you want to tell me why there's a human in your bed?"

"New pet."

A snort, and a familiar figure melted out of the shadows, angular shades hiding his eyes. "Really, Dave. Why did you bring a human home?"

"Serket decided to go after someone that will be missed."

Dirk raised an eyebrow, white over the shades. "You usually don't care who Vriska decides to feed to her mom."

"He's John's friend."

He knew Dirk understood immediately. Who John was. What 'friend' meant to them. What they would do for friends. "How much did he drink?"

"He puked up most of it."

"I still want to know where you got that holy water from. Also, you didn't say all of it."

Dave looked over at his bedroom door. "He drank most of the glass."

"That much? Fuck. A papercut could turn him with that much in him." Dirk ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "You said he puked most of it up?"

"Trashcan's in the room full of nice dead B-."

"So he's safe for now." Dirk nodded to himself for a bit, then inhaled. "Well, you said he was a new pet, so you get to watch him until that junk is out of his system."

Dave snorted, knowing what Karkat would say about being called a pet. But… "Is this where I whine at you about having to take care of a human so he doesn't turn into one of us?"

"Is it?"

"I have no fucking clue."

  


* * *

  


She'll eat him. She'll eat him and leave her alone. Then she could escape.

Damn it. Vriska watched as her mother's feet paced in front of her. She knew who the target was. She knew what her mother wanted. All she had to do was turn that annoying Vantas kid, and her mother would have another feast. That was all she had to do. She wouldn't be hiding under a dresser, only moving her eyes to watch her mother pace.

She'll eat him. She had to.

Finally, the feet went away and a familiar bone crunch and agonized wail filled the air. At that, Vriska pulled herself free from the dresser and bolted for the door. She didn't know where she'd go. Kanaya, Terezi, someone.

It was always like this when she didn't pick up the prey marked. She knew her mother ate newly turned, head to toe, bones and all. It was the same as Feferi's mom. They had to feed. Normally, it'd be okay. She ate the mark, went back to ignoring Vriska, and Vriska went on her way with a grin on her face. But whenever she didn't-

"Vriska?"

She stopped and turned at the floaty, almost bubbly voice. "Hey, Feferi."

Feferi nodded, something in her face knowing as she stepped next to her. "It's a nice night for a walk!"

Vriska snorted, turning away from her. "Yeah. Sure is." She glanced at Feferi out of the corner of her eye as they started walking. "Get your mark?"

"I did." And as usual, she never sounded proud about it. It was simple, an acknowledgement of the relationship between her and her mother. "Who was yours?"

"Uuuuuuuugh. Vantas. I was so close too. Just had to bite him."

"Vantas?" Feferi turned to her, fuchsia eyes wide. "Doesn't she know people will notice him missing?"

"Do you think she cares about that?"

Feferi tilted her head slightly in thought, her black hair floating around her with the motion as if she was eternally underwater. "I suppose not. She has always been careless about her marks."

There wasn't even anything Vriska could say. The little princess was right. "Yeah, well, she got food, that's all that matters."

With light feet, almost floating, Feferi stepped in front of her, her green and cyan skirt flowing with the motion. "Just be careful, okay?" she said, smiling as she clasped her hands behind her, walking backwards. "Life would be so much more boring without you."

Vriska snorted, smiling at this. "Yeah, yeah. I haven't lived this long and not learned a few tricks."

Another bubbling laugh slipped from Feferi's lips. "Good."

"Besides." Vriska carelessly waved a hand. "She'll have a new mark in the morning and forget all about this."

A grin split Feferi's lips, showing a hint of sharp teeth. "After you have your walk?"

Vriska answered with a sharp grin of her own. "Well, I need my own meal as well. Wanna come?"


	2. Day 2

There had to be a clean pan in there somewhere. He didn’t want to wash dishes this early in the morning (even though it was totally his turn). He just wanted some eggs and ah ha! John pulled out the pan with a flourish. Time for some breakfast.

From upstairs, he could hear the heavy sound of a shampoo bottle hitting the tub. But strangely, he didn’t hear an answering scream of ‘you fuckmunches, keep it down for all the fuckers trying to sleep’ which was... huh. Where was Karkat? He said he was going out, and John knew he hadn’t been back home when he and Jade went to sleep after another round about arguing over what movie to watch next. (He won.) Where had Karkat gone, anyway? He had just grabbed his car keys and left. Usually he’d say he was going over to someone’s house or the store or something for some peace and quiet. This time, he didn’t say a word. Weird.

Maybe he was sleeping over at a friend’s. He’d pester him later, once he was done cooking. See when he was coming home and see if he’d pick up some milk. That kind of thing.

He was almost done cooking the eggs when his sister eagerly dropped herself into a chair at the table, long hair bundled into a towel. “Ooh, eggs! Fried or scrambled? Any bacon?”

”Scrambled and uh...”

Jade giggled, launching herself out of her chair. “I’ll make some really quick.”

John quickly stepped out of her way as she bounded around and grabbed the package. He wrinkled his nose as the bacon went into the microwave. “It’s gonna get so gross, Jade.”

”Hush, you’ll still eat it.”

He rolled his eyes, letting out a long annoyed groan. “I’ll let you get away with it this time because it’s bacon.”

Jade grinned as she landed in her chair once again. “So, where’s Karkat? I didn’t hear him yelling this morning.”

”I don’t actually know. Hey-” John quickly caught his phone as Jade lobbed it at him. He went through his messages, looking to see if Karkat or anyone had said anything about where he was. So far, nothing. He considered calling him, but even then, if he was particularly cranky he would just shut his phone off after the first ring.

Well, at least he could give him a poke.

ectoBiologist [ET] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

ET: hey karkat!  
ET: when are you coming home? i made some great eggs. jade also made something.

Nothing. Well, Karkat might still be asleep.

ET: when you wake up, let me know when you're coming home!

Still nothing. That's fine. That's-

Oh hey, that's Dave. He didn't think he'd know where Karkat was, but he had to ask.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist[EB]

TG: yo  
EB: hey, dave! do you know where karkat is?  
TG: yeah saw him last night chowing down on something mad suspect  
EB: really? i didn't know you two were friends.  
TG: oh yeah we got real intimate last night  
TG: all over my shoes  
TG: my shoes are in therapy after being puked on that much  
EB: oh no! is he okay?  
TG: yeah just a wicked case of food poisoning  
TG: figured id keep him here until it gets out of his system  
EB: man, that sucks. let me know when i can pick him up or whatever.  
TG: can do

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist[EB]

"What was that face for?" Jade asked, making the same wrinkled face back at him.

"Guess wherever Karkat went gave him food poisoning. He's staying at Dave's.

"I didn't know they were friends."

"Me neither!

  


* * *

  


First thing he did upon waking up was throw up. Good start. At least there was a wastebasket nearby.

Second thing was to notice he was not in his room with a pair of twins making an unholy fucking racket getting ready in that tiny ass bathroom and making breakfast. Seriously, he never met anyone that banged pots together as hard as John did or knew someone who dropped the shampoo bottle as much as Jade.

Karkat groaned, not wanting to move. He still felt incredibly sick, like he was about to- nope there he went again. With a groan, he laid back onto the mattress and tried to think. Where was he, and why? He turned his head slightly, noticing it was dark enough to obscure most of the things in the room, but he could make out what looked like… a turntable? And that was… definitely a sword of some sort in the corner.

Then it was time to figure out where he was. He tensed, ready to at least sit up, only for nausea to take over once again.

He never threw up this much, even when he had the stomach bug from hell. What the hell was going on?

"You might want to stay down." Karkat jerked his head sharply towards the voice, only for that motion to be too fast. "Yeah, that's why."

He recognized that voice. Not just from yesterday, from whoever took him out of that… fucking weird place, but from something else. "Strider…?"

"Yup. You are now a proud guest of Casa de Strider. Enjoy the sights. We have such lovely views such as a shitty turntable, blackout curtains, and one gorgeous hunk of a man."

Groaning, at least, didn't make the nausea worse. "You're insufferable."

"Bet you say that to all the boys."

Another groan. "You know what? The twins are better company than you, and that's saying a lot. So I'll just-"

Throw up, again.

"You're not going anywhere," Dave told him. "John knows you'll be staying here with the food poisoning from hell. Once you're able to sit up without puking, I'll take you home."

Well now, since he didn't want to be there any longer than he had to, he was going to do just-

Damn it.

"The fuck did I eat last night?" Karkat asked, finally laying back.

There was a slight hesitation, and he looked over to Dave again. An uncomfortable feeling of being stared at, as well as a flash of a memory of red eyes, made him shiver.

"Rotten fish eyes," Dave finally said, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah right."

"Puked haggis."

"Fucking gross."

"Fruitcake."

Okay, so he wasn't going to tell him the truth. Which… "So why the fuck aren't you telling me anything about how I got here or where I was eating rotten fish eyes or puked haggis or fruitcake or whatever?"

"Because you shouldn't have been there."

Okay where did the other Strider come from? "Where?" Karkat asked, irritation loud in his voice as he just barely kept from puking again.

"Don't worry about it." Dave's tone was far more serious than it had any right to be.

"You know what, then I'll just go over things. I know Serket said something-"

"She shouldn't have."

"Did I fucking say it was time to interrupt me? No? So she said something about… going… somewhere." Wow, that memory was already getting fuzzy. "So I went there and- there was this really weird wine-" Karkat stopped at that. "Oh fuck, she's drugged me, didn't she. That fucking spider bitch!"

Despite the passionate declaration, thought, the Striders kept quiet. Which… Karkat stared at them. "What? I thought you'd have something to say about that bitch drugging me."

"I have a lot of things to say," Dave said. "But honestly, I rather just st-"

"Dave…" the older Strider said warningly.

"What? As I was saying, I'm going to get you some water. Might make you puke. Might not."

"Hey, no, what were you about to say? Hey, no, don't walk-"

Well, at least he knew now why he was puking yet again. What did that bitch drug him with? Not only that, but by how the Striders were acting, it seemed like that wasn't even the first time she had pulled that stunt. How had she not been arrested yet? Well, okay, she was from a rich family and her mom was incredibly influential but there still should have been something. Right?

He answered that with "she's rich" didn't he.

  


* * *

  


"He's not tolerating it well."

"Gee, you think?" The amount of puking was normal. Dave expected Karkat to expel whatever was in his stomach pretty regularly. His body was still trying to get that shit out. But… "Wasn't like I noticed those pretty grey eyes looking a little redder than normal."

Damn it. He'd pour another big glass of holy water if he knew that would get that shit out. But, of course, Karkat fucking Vantas had to be particularly sensitive to it. Dave shut off the faucet, nose wrinkling at the smell. Not the best smelling water he'd seen over the years. "You sure something's not wrong with our pipes or something?"

"I think we're getting a reputation with the plumbers about that question." Dirk shook his head. "What are you planning on doing if he does turn?"

Dave looked at the glass in his hand, at the clear liquid, imagining it thick and red. And a newly turned, unable to stop himself, wanting relief wherever, however he could find it. Vriska would smirk at the headline, knowing she was right when she saw the bloodbath it would take.

He'd have to kill him. But… that would hurt John. And it was so hard to see humans as not just fucking alien and want to actually be around them. To have that kind of bond where he felt comfortable. More than just a body hurdling through time. There had been so many of their kind without that bond that had permanently gone to rest, tombs sealed under castles, letting their eternal body just exist through time.

Dave refused to be one of them.

"I'll figure something out."

He could feel Dirk's orange eyes boring into him. They both knew neither of them knew what they would do. Killing him was the safe option.

But not the right option.

  


* * *

  


It was so nice to swim when she didn't have to worry about breathing.

Feferi swam deeper, letting the water flow past her limbs. She tried to make her mind flow away with the water, but it didn't want to. It stayed on what Vriska had said. Her mother had been getting more and more bold in the last few decades. She knew Vriska had the same kind of arrangement that Feferi had with her mother. In return for safety, they would hunt and feed for them. But she had become more and more careless. Some day, that was going to get them exposed. And Feferi remembered the last time that happened.

Poor Aradia.

She had to figure something out. Considering she was one of _Her_ descendants, she was expected to do something as royalty when something like this came up. And even more so, as the heiress in case anything actually happened to _Her_ …

The only thing she could see was executing the weak link. Kill Vriska's mother. That would leave Vriska so vulnerable, and she couldn't have that. She couldn't take Vriska in. Her own mother worked hard enough to make sure _She_ didn't find her.

Feferi swam even deeper, the day's light growing even dimmer as she descended into the depths of the ocean. Just letting the water take her as it grew darker and darker around her.

She'd kill her. She really didn't want to. But it was for the best. For all of them.

She just hoped it wouldn't doom Vriska.

  


* * *

  


"Come on. Time for more water."

He hated this. Even with Dave's help, Karkat felt so… helpless. Weak. At least he knew the water was clean. It didn't do anything to him that wasn't already being done to him by his own body. At least the amount of puking had gone down over the day. Hopefully tomorrow it'd be gone completely.

… what soap did Dave use? He always smelled something really…

Really…

Something whenever he did this. He could smell something.

"Hey, man, you okay there?"

Oh hey, that glass was empty. And it stayed down. "Yeah, I'm not about to puke all over your shorts again."

Somehow, he felt like that wasn't what Dave was asking. Just… something told him.

What was that smell…?

"Alright then. Back down you go."

There was something under those words. Some kind of sound.

But as soon as Dave laid him back down, he passed right the fuck out.


	3. Day 3

He smelled so good. Just put hands on his hips, pull him closer. His skin would taste even better. And that burst of blood against his tongue, biting deeper to take all of him-

Dave snapped awake, acutely aware of two things. One, the sun was shining outside. Probably morning, given how there was a stripe of warm sunlight across his leg. Even that was enough to sap his strength and make sleep start to drag him back down. But he stayed awake because two, he was fucking _horny_. The phantom taste of old lovers lingered on his tongue, the memory of warmth on him, inside him, around him-

He really needed to get off, and he couldn't even going to the peace of his own room because-

Dave bolted upright, stretching his hearing, hoping he was wrong as he scrambled for his own room. There, if he listened hard, he could hear soft breathing, the soft heartbeat, but it wasn't right, it wasn't- He threw his door open, instantly going to Karkat's side and pressing fingers against the pulse in his throat. There, a strong beat, but… slow. Was that normal? He didn't remember how sleeping humans worked. One hand cupped Karkat's cheek, relief bubbling at the warmth against his palm. Humans probably just slowed their heartbeat when they fell asleep.

That would explain things. A lot of things.

Karkat's skin was very… nice. And damn it, he was still horny despite that sudden anxiety. He couldn't exactly beat one out with a visitor he wasn't fucking in his room. If he wasn't aware what raising Karkat's heart rate could do, he would be more than happy to change the "not fucking" part. He was cute. But nope, he didn't want to deal with a newly turned.

He didn't want to kill Karkat.

One finger traced the line of his lower lip, feeling Karkat's soft warm breath on his finger (still breathing. still warm), and remembered how it felt to kiss humans. Nothing like kissing his own kind. It could be soft, could be needy, could be pure emotion of any sort… Humans felt so much, didn't they.

He needed to get out of there before his thoughts went any further. Dave stood, snagging the trashcan as he went to clean it out. There wasn't as much in there as last time he cleaned it out, which… he supposed was good. It probably meant the blood was getting out of his system. He'd be back with John soon enough. For some reason… Dave didn't let the thought continue, and instead focused on washing out the trashcan and drying it off. He went to return it next to Karkat, noticing how he had shifted in his sleep, one arm stretched wide off the side of the bed. Without thinking, he put the can back down and left, putting a little bit of extra speed behind the movement.

Shower. He could take care of things in the shower.

And he'd have to get Karkat to take a shower once he could stand. He stank.

  


* * *

  


Vriska grumbled into her latte, watching her mother pay for the two drinks. She knew what this was. It wasn't a treat, something nutritionally useless but tasty, giving her tastebuds something new. It wasn't anything but a warning, and a hunt. She could have been sleeping, ignoring the incoming day, but instead she was waken up and dragged out. But she still had something tasty, and she was going to enjoy the medley of coffee and milk. Vriska took a sip, grumbling again as the front door opened, letting in more sunlight and straining her eyes. But she wasn't about to wear sunglasses like the Striders or her mother. She was never going to wear what her mother wore.

She knew her mother was gazing over the various customers, eyes sharp behind the sunglasses. If she was lucky, her mother would get bored and move on. See a nobody no one would miss. And she'd invite them out on the weekend, make them her guest, turn them, and shove their bloodthirsty ass at her mother. Just like normal. New mark. It'd work. She'd do it.

"Who is that young man?"

There were a lot of those. Business men and college students leeching off the free wifi. Teens in line, looking like young human Eridans. Someone chatting with what looked like his- that was John Egbert with his twin. When she looked back at her mother, seeing where her face was pointed, Vriska knew that's who she meant.

"John."

"I expect to see him in my presence by the end of Saturday."

She couldn't. She had actually talked with both of them before. Goofy, but they were good kids. They had people who would miss them. People who would put out searches. People who could _find them_.

She had to.

And she knew her mother chose John on purpose. Made sure she chose someone Vriska knew. That's why she asked who he was. She wanted to make sure.

She took another sip of her latte, the taste of the coffee now sour on her tongue.

  


* * *

  


Well, he was now sitting upright and only puked once. That was good. Karkat slowly stood, felt his stomach start to tilt a little at the motion, but everything stayed down. Good. Because he really needed to piss. Which begged a few questions (did he even go to the bathroom yesterday?) but the more pressing one was where the _fuck_ was the bathroom? Not connected to Dave's room, that's for sure. He stumbled out of the room, noticing the empty living room- no, he could see a leg hanging off the end of the couch, swinging lazily. The leg pulled back as Dave sat up. "Yo, welcome back to the realm of the conscious."

"Yeah, yeah. Where's the bathroom?"

"Next door on your right. Might want to take a shower while you're in there. You're fucking _rank_ right now. Like, I think I can see the fumes."

"Oh yeah, I'm so sorry I couldn't smell like fucking lilies and roses while I puked," Karkat shouted over his shoulder.

He really did need to shower. And brush his goddamn teeth. Karkat started the shower and got to work on some pressing biological needs while the water heated up. There was a Hello Kitty toothbrush on the sink, and a half used tube of toothpaste. He had everything he needed, then, as long as there was soap in the shower.

There was.

And the sudden temperature change from stepping into the hot water brought the nausea back on. He had to sit down for a moment, fighting back the urge to vomit for the nth time in the last few days. Once he was sure it was going to stay down, he stood back up slowly and started cleaning up. Soap felt like heaven right now.

He would just… stand under the hot water for a while.

Vriska had drugged him. He was lucid enough for that to really hit home. She had slipped him something that fucked him up for days. What had she planned on doing? Was it just for some stupid thrill, or did she- what did she do with the people she drugged? The Striders knew what she was doing- did they even care? Did they even try to stop her?

… okay, to be fair, Dave had stopped her and took him home.

Fuck. Karkat shivered, realizing how close he came to something really bad happening to him. He didn't know why Vriska drugged him and it really fucking bothered him and just. Scared him because what the fuck would that spider bitch had done?

A knock on the door snapped Karkat out of his thoughts, and he shut off the rapidly cooling water with vicious movements. "What?" he snapped out.

"Just making sure you're still standing in there," came Dave's lazy drawl. "Also, towel."

Karkat peered around the shower curtain… yep. No towel. "Fine."

When Dave entered, he held the towel out almost like a peace offering. Karkat snatched the towel, retreating back behind the curtain to start drying off. He stayed there until he heard the bathroom door click shut, then shuddered. Yeah, it wasn't going to be easy with those thoughts of 'what did Vriska do why did Vriska do it what was going on' to be around Dave. He needed to get back to the derp twins as fast as possible. He got dressed quickly, wrinkling his nose at the smell clinging to his clothes, and fled the bathroom.

It wasn't until he saw Dave sitting at a shitty fold-up table, drinking what looked like to be apple juice, that he realized he hadn't brushed his teeth. And it felt awkward to turn around and do just that when Dave raised his bottle in a salute. "Nice to see you up and moving."

"Whatever, you insufferable asshole." He was hungry. When he looked in the fridge, though, just bottles and bottles of apple juice. And a single beer with a long pretentious name on the label. Nothing in the freezer. And in the pantry was nothing but junk food. "Do you eat anything with actual nutrients and not just junk?" Karkat asked, finally noticing a single sad Cup Noodle package.

"We order out a lot," Dave told him. "Got really friendly with the pizza driver. Knows us by heart. His cat's having kittens soon."

"I swear to everything holy I will punch you in the face." When he turned around, Dave was… just looking at him. "What?"

Dave only smirked. "Man, if I knew you wanted to fuck me this badly I'd already be in bed."

"I can't wait to get back home and away from your fucking stupid face and I never thought I say that." Karkat looked around, noticing a sad looking microwave on a corner. No kettle. And yep, the stove looked like it had never been used. "Ugh." He wasn't about to dig around in that kitchen so he'd just put some water in the package and microwave that. It'd work, right?

That was when the nausea decided to return. The package dropped to the floor as Karkat ran for the sink, clinging for dear life as his stomach decided to empty itself again. Even though he hadn't eaten anything.

"Hey." He felt hands on his shoulders, cold points against his skin steadying him. "Good job making it this far without puking and all."

God, it felt good to have something cold against his skin right now. He spat a few times, trying to get the taste out of his mouth, and looked at what came up. Almost nothing. He hadn't eaten anything in days, but he was still puking. "What did Vriska give me?" he asked, his hands tightening on the sink.

Dave didn't answer.

"Hey, bitchass, I asked a question," Karkat snapped out, turning to him, brushing off his hands.

Only to stop because Dave was really close and smelled-

Smelled.

He didn't know what the smell was but it filled his senses. Slowly, he leaned forward, trying to figure it out. It was here, against his skin. If he could just get closer-

"Stop." Dave's voice was strained, and those ice cold hands clasped hard on his shoulders.

"Fuck you." He wanted to find out what it was. What… smelled.

Then stumbled as Dave stepped back, letting him go. He looked up at Dave, about to let loose a tirade, when he noticed the tense line of his body, his body weight shifted.

And that he was baring his teeth at Dave.

That was…

"I'm going back to sleep."

  


* * *

  


That was… probably a good thing that Karkat had absconded. Dave sat down hard, and tried to ignore the party in his pants. He had nearly thought with the wrong head, and he knew he couldn't do anything he wanted to Karkat because of what had fucking happened that night.

He looked up at the open pantry, and at all the food up there. It never occurred to him that he would need something more than cookies and aj for Karkat. Humans needed food. He knew that from getting lunch with John. Meat. He just… never realized he'd need that kind of thing now. He and Dirk just bought whatever tasted good. It didn't do anything for them but taste good. But it wasn't actual food apparently.

John liked ordering pizza whenever they would sit down for their sixth watch of Con Air. Maybe he'd order a pizza for Karkat.

Fuck, he wanted to bite Karkat so much.

  


* * *

  


Feferi leapt down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell, barely letting each foot hit the step. Anything to distract her from her plans. She knew she couldn't go toe to toe with an elder. Even if she was royalty, she wasn't that strong. So she would have to get creative. It felt so wrong to have to ambush someone, but that's what she would need to do to win.

But when she opened the door, all those thoughts left her head. "Vriska?"

"Feferi, I'm in trouble. She wants John. We're gonna get caught, Feferi. People are gonna look for John."

And like that, it crystalized what she would have to do.


	4. Day 4

Somehow, the silence without Karkat's voice interjecting between the twins was worse. John looked up at Jade, watching her stir her cereal. "I miss Karkat," she finally said.

"Think he's actually sick?" John offered.

Jade thought for a moment, staring at her cereal. "Something really weird about this," she finally offered. "Karkat's really careful about he eats. And Dave didn't tell you where it was, did he? And why wouldn't Karkat just tell us he was going out to eat?"

All good questions. John looked down at his own empty bowl. Something felt really off. "I'm going over to Dave's," he said, standing. "I'll let you know if he's sick or something."

She nodded, still looking at her bowl. She was still there, staring at it, after he went upstairs, got ready, and came back down to snag his keys. Then, he heard something in Jade's voice, and he turned slightly towards her.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Jade blinked, looking up at him. "Oh. Nothing."

'Be careful.' John couldn't shake those quiet words as he started out to his car. It wasn't like he didn't feel like something was wrong. If Karkat was actually sick, wouldn't Dave let him know? And Jade was right. There were so many things he should have known. Hopefully it wasn't something like… Karkat was dying or something. Though, even if that was the case, wouldn't Dave let him know something was really wrong?

Be careful.

This early in the morning, there was practically no one on the road. The drive to Dave's apartment was practically a dream, both in how easy it was and how eerie and disconnected it felt. It didn't take long until he was parking and starting up to Dave's apartment. He'd seen the inside of the apartment a few times, mostly when waking Dave up at 4:00pm and going out somewhere, so he at least knew where it was. But even that felt wrong, like every part of his body wanted to turn the other way.

When he knocked on the door, no one answered. John shifted his weight, wondering if he should call or something. Oh, of course, he should have done that originally. Something about the whole thing had knocked him off balance or something. John started fishing in his pockets for his phone, only for the door to open. "I was just getting to sleep, man," Dave said, yawning. "What's up?"

"Hey Dave." Just getting to sleep? He didn't know Dave worked late. Or… did he work? There was so much about his friend he didn't know, John was starting to realize. "So, how's Karkat doing? Ready to go home?"

"You drove all the way here to ask that?" Dave let out a short, soft laugh. "He should be ready to go home-"

"Now." John wasn't sure, but he thought he saw panic on Dave's face as he spun around at Karkat's voice. "If I have to say with this asshole one more moment, I'll-"

"You'll what?" John asked when Karkat didn't answer. He pushed himself up onto his tip toes, trying to see around Dave. "Hey, Karkat, are you-"

All words stopped when he finally saw Karkat. He had never seen him look so pale. The almost constant bags under his eyes were the worst they had ever been, and he was baring his teeth and oh god what was happening.

"Get out of here."

John started to take a small step backwards. "Dave, what's going on? Karkat, what's wrong?"

He jumped as Karkat lunged. Dave easily caught him, spinning around faster than John could see. The thud told him against the wall told him that Karkat had probably been thrown into it, or pinned. But that was the last sound, and John peeked his head around the corner to see what was going on. Karkat had never done anything like that before.

"I said get out of here." Dave's voice hadn't ever sounded so serious before.

Karkat… wasn't moving. He was being pinned against the wall with Dave's forearm across his chest. And wasn't moving. Was he even breathing? "Dave, what's going on?"

"Yeah, Strider." Karkat's voice was barely there, incredibly breathy. "What's going on?"

John could see Dave's jaw flexing. But he didn't answer.

"It's not food poisoning, is it?"

"John, get out of here, I swear. I don't want you to see this."

"See _what_?!"

"Yeah, I'd like to know too." Karkat's words were nearly a snarl.

No, not nearly. John could hear growling. It sounded like a wild beast, but- "Dave, no! I don't know what you're about to do, but don't do it!"

"I have to," Dave said, quietly. "Or you're going to hurt my friend."

"That's not a reason to do- whatever you're about to do!"

"You're my first friend I've had in decades! I'm not about to let this fucking half turned shit kill you!"

At that, everyone went quiet. John could see Karkat's eyes wide at the declaration, and he was pretty certain his were doing the same thing. Without a word, John turned his eyes to Karkat's mouth, then to Dave's, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"You… have fangs." A part of him was kind of... cool, his friend's a vampire. At the same time, though, not good when he's talking about killing Karkat!

"What did Vriska give me?" Karkat said, a snarl on the edge of his own words.

Vriska? "What does Vriska have to do with this?"

Dave didn't answer.

"Because if she fucking laced that wine with blood-"

"It was more blood laced with wine," Dave finally said, a small quirk on his lips. "It's her M.O."

This was all too much. "Wait, wait, you and Vriska are- are vampires?" John asked, trying to make sense of this. "Did Vriska want to turn Karkat into one?"

After a long moment, Dave slowly started to let Karkat go. "Vriska's given targets. She feeds them enough of our kind's blood to stop their heart, and then bites them so all that nice blood gets completely circulated because pain raises your heart rate. Which kicks off the change."

Karkat's eyes were wide. "… There is so goddamn much I want to ask," he finally said, not moving off the wall.

"Me too."

Dave finally stepped back. "Fine, okay. Close the door behind you. And fuck. Dirk's going to have my head for this." John watched him start to pace, tense, as he closed the door. "First off, yes, Vriska and I are… vampires." His nose wrinkled at the last word. "A lot of our kind don't like that word."

"Why, because of Twilight?" Karkat snapped. "Sparkly vampires too much you?"

"Nosferatu, actually. Most of the ones that have 'reclaimed' it are those weird Twilight fans." Dave shook his head. "Look, Dirk's going to be home soon-"

"Try asking him if he's Team Edward or Team Jacob."

Both John and Karkat jumped as Dirk stepped out of… what looked like nowhere to stand behind Dave. "Wh- where-" Karkat started, looking at the closed door.

"I leave my window open just in case." Dirk looked over at the three of them, and John couldn't help but noticed the sword in his hand. "So. This is a clusterfuck."

"What was Vriska trying to do?" Karkat asked, a growl on his words. "Why was I a 'mark'?

"Yeah. And I want to know everything," John chimed in. "I mean, I've seen you in the light, Dave! And you eat things. Like, real food." A thought occurred to him. "Are you telling me all this because you're going to wipe my mind later?"

"No." Dave shook his head. "Look, we're more like… Dracula, I guess. Or Carmilla. Sunlight just makes me feel really sleepy."

Dirk was staring at Karkat. Then- "We can drink each other's blood," he finally said, bluntly. "The older we get, the weirder our diet gets. Elders like Aranea Serket have really weird diets. She eats newly turned."

"What the absolute living slimy fuck?" Karkat looked even paler at that, if possible. "Are you saying Vriska was going to let her mom cannibalize me? What the fuck is wrong with you people?! Did turning into a vampire make you lose all sense of fucking sense?"

Dirk shook his head. "We weren't turned. Turned humans don't live."

"… I was going to die anyway?"

"Turned humans are uncontrollable. You would have to die."

The words hung in the air. Then, Karkat slowly sank to the floor, his eyes wide. "Were you always going to kill me?"

Dave shook his head. "I was hoping your body would flush it out. Your luck that you're particularly sensitive to it."

"So that's why I've been puking. I'm having a bad reaction to fucking vampire blood. Great. Of course. That's exactly what I wanted to do over the week! You know, not have a life and just sit around as my body tries to get rid of something that would fucking kill me!" Karkat threw up his hands. "Anything fucking else?"

"I mean, it can't be that bad… right?" John looked over at Dave, noticing the grim look on his face. "He's going to recover, right?"

"I don't know."

  


* * *

  


"You have too much hair," Vriska grumbled. "It's in my face."

Feferi giggled, rolling over. Vriska looked good in her bed, she thought. Something had eased in her as she laid there, and she looked like how she did when they first met. Wild. Careless. Happy. "You have a lot of hair too."

"Yeah, but I couldn't use my hair as a blanket."

Feferi reached out, stroking a lock of her hair. "Too bad."

Vriska watched her for a moment, letting the silence fill between them. "So when do you plan on killing her?" she finally asked.

"I don't know."

"I can get her alone. That's no problem. Then we can stake the bitch together."

"That'll help," Feferi admitted.

Silence returned, broken only when Vriska yawned. "What time is it?"

"Day. We should sleep."

"Fuck that," Vriska mumbled. "I'm too hyped up. We get to finally kill this bitch."

After a moment, Feferi's hand moved from it was on Vriska's hair to her face. In return, Vriska placed a hand on hers, turning slightly to press her nose against her wrist. Her blue eyes looked over into Feferi's fuchsia ones as she lightly scraped her skin with sharp teeth. A low groan escaped Feferi's lips at the sight and feeling. She could feel Vriska's lips curve into a wicked grin, and that was enough.

Vriska laughed as Feferi pinned her, wide grin wild. "About time, princess."

Something inside her lurched at the sight, of Vriska under her looking free of any of obligations, the feeling twisting her tightly. But it didn't matter as she rested her body on top of Vriska, letting her hair cover the two of them. Creating a place where only they existed, and nothing else.

"Think you can keep up?" Feferi whispered against her ear, nipping just hard enough to draw blood.

There was something gentle in Vriska's wild cackle. "I should be asking you that."

  


* * *

  


"So why did you even stop Vriska?" Karkat sat up slightly from his recline on the couch. John had already gone home, and Karkat had no illusions that he'd show back up in a few hours with stuff for him like a new change of clothes. Fucking finally.

"Because you're John's friend," Dave said from his seat next to Dirk by the table.

"Okay, explain further."

"We don't make friends easily," Dirk told him. "Mostly because humans are really fucking… weird to us. So any time we make a friend, we do whatever we can to keep that friend happy."

"What the fuck? That explained nothing."

Dirk drummed his fingers on the table, and he could see both Dirk and Dave fighting back yawns. He was keeping them from sleeping and honestly? Good. They needed to explain shit.

"When we're born there's always someone around," Dave finally said. "Family. But as the years go on, and everyone grows up and scatters, it's like… super lonely because there isn't anyone else around. Humans are these weird fucking things around us, so it's really special when we find a friend. It's a little less lonely."

Karkat laid back down, trying to think about that. Alone, not even the same species as everyone else around, trying to live in their world… and then finding one person that made him a little less lonely.

"As much as I would love to continue this lovely conversation about being alone, with your ass out here I can finally get a good day's sleep." Dave stood, a yawn finally breaking through. "See ya."

"I get it," he said, making Dave pause.

"… yeah."

Karkat looked up at the ceiling, then-

"Team Edward or Team Jacob?"

"Team Alice," Dave said seriously. "They're both little bitches."

"Why am I not surprised you read the books."

"Ironically read them."

Karkat snorted.


	5. Day 5

Ugh. Feferi dropped her phone on the bed, wanting to ignore the new message as she pulled off her shirt. Of course, Eridan wouldn't let her ignore him, but sometimes he was so smothering. His overprotective nature of her (and her alone. She noticed that right away) made her feel like he thought she was helpless. She had been hunting for far longer than he had. His help definitely was nice, but she didn't need to be treated like she was glass.

Vriska didn't treat her like glass. Yesterday had been incredibly fun, and she could still feel the healed bites when she stretched. She had hoped Vriska would stay for another day, but she knew the plan had to start. Vriska had her part to play in it. A part of her twisted as she remembered how it was when she first met Vriska, all those decades ago. Her mother hadn't been like she was now. She had actually wanted to care for her little one. And now…

Vriska hadn't cared, Feferi remembered as she reached for her sleeping shirt. Unlike Eridan, she hadn't cared at all about her heiress status. When she had relocated, finding out that Vriska was in the same area…

Feferi didn't know where the sudden warmth came from. It wasn't like the heat that curled inside her yesterday. It was… almost kind. Gentle. But there it was, glowing inside her at the memory of learning Vriska was living in the same area.

Maybe she'd ask Vriska if she knew what it was, she thought as she got dressed for bed. After they killed her mother.

But right now, there was the issue of Eridan, still messaging her.

Ugh.

  


* * *

  


John had no idea how much to tell Jade. She didn't seem to buy Karkat was sick with something nasty last night, and she seemed even more suspicious the next morning, playing with her eggs. Dave had told him to be careful about what he said, but he had no idea if that mean lying to Jade or letting her know and not telling anyone else. If Karkat came back and was still like that, Jade needed to know in case something happened.

But how do you bring up 'hey, my friend's a vampire and our roommate might become one'?

"Karkat's not okay, he is."

Twin intuition. Sometimes he hated it. "He's uh- going to be okay." John told her, picking at his bacon.

"John, just tell me."

Well, it was now or never. John took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Karkat was kind of… given something when he went out. "

Jade's eyes grew wide. "Someone drugged him?"

Easiest way to explain it. "Yeah."

After a moment of thinking, Jade shook her head. "Karkat's really paranoid," she said. "There's something you're not telling me."

John winced, unable to hide it. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone," he pleaded as her eyes lit up as she was proven right. "Um. It's that." This was harder than he expected. "So it's not Dave's fault. He wasn't the one to do it. He's just keeping Karkat safe."

Jade clasped her hands around her mouth. He could almost see worst case scenarios running through her head.

He didn't want to name Vriska as the one who drugged Karkat. He knew how protective Jade was, and he knew what kind of shot she was with her rifle. "Someone did drug Karkat, but it's- so Dave and his brother are vampires and someone was trying to turn Karkat into one but Dave's making sure he won't and it's all okay you don't need to do anything!" Wow, he didn't know he could squeeze that many words into a single breath. He could see Jade picking through the words, trying to make sense of what he said so quickly.

"… but we've seen Dave in the sunlight."

"Yeah. Um. Turns out vampires are kind of not… what we expected."

"Well then." She stood suddenly, her eyes narrowed. John watched her, knowing she was angry but not sure with who. "I'm going to get dressed and then we're going over to Dave's. Karkat must be so scared right now! And you just left him alone with Dave and his brother? He needs to have a friend there."

"No, bad idea!" John stood quickly, standing in front of her path as she tried to leave. "Karkat tried to attack me yesterday. He didn't mean to," he added hastily, before she could take it the wrong way," but he's not dealing with it well. And if you go over there, he might attack you too."

Jade tried to get around him, letting out a frustrated growl when John wouldn't let her. And wow, after hearing vampire growls that sounded way different. He could tell that was from a human. "Fine," she finally sighed, dropping herself back into her seat. "But I'm giving him the biggest hug when he gets back."

"He's going to yell so much about that."

"Yup!"

The two of them started to smile, already planning the best way how to ambush their hugs.

  


* * *

  


Good thing her mom didn't really care about what she did other than if she brought her food, Vriska thought as she sat back, her drink finished. The warmth of the sun made her sleepy, but she needed to finalize her plans now, before Saturday. Which meant she needed to think, and she couldn't do that at home or in Feferi.

Her mother not caring meant she could plan and scheme all she wanted and her mother wouldn't know anything about it. Vriska could go out to a cafe like this, and think. How? How was she going to make sure it worked. One of the biggest questions was… did she really need John for her plans, or was he just going to be a liability?

Probably. Vriska frowned, thinking as the humans walked by. She needed to make sure her mother would be distracted. Feferi was right. They couldn't take an elder on without using some kind of tricks. If she turned John, then her eating should be enough to distract her that Feferi could come up behind her and stake her. Or if that didn't work, enough time for Vriska to do the same.

At the same time, ugh. Fighting a newly turned at the same time trying to kill her mother? That didn't sound fun.

So did she get John?

Bluh. He was close to Dave. And that would fuck things up. If Dave hadn't been there when she tried to get Karkat, everything would have been perfect. Her mother wouldn't have chosen John to punish her. She knew Dave and his brother would show up at the club sometimes ('ironically spending time with humans trying to be like us' he'd say) but she didn't expect him to actually stop her. He usually didn't care.

Well, if Dave was going to interfere once, she wasn't going to give him another reason to interfere again. He was too attached to the human, and she didn't need him fucking up anything else. She didn't need John. She and Feferi could do it alone. Vriska nodded to herself, knowing she was right. They could do it.

But right now, she was a little hungry. And… there. A handsome man sitting with others, fairly muscular, and he had been looking at her with interest for a while. He reminded her a bit of Equius, but human. It had been disappointing when they moved. It had been fun hunting with him.

Vriska let her lips curl into a wicked smile. And she wouldn't even need to use her mind powers on this one.

  


* * *

  


"Being hungry for actual fucking food is good, right?" Karkat called over his shoulder, still going through the pantry. "Holy shit, how many cookies do you have?"

"All of them," Dave deadpanned, looking over his shoulder from his spot on the couch. Karkat had stopped throwing up, so either that meant the blood had finally gotten out of his system, or his body had adapted to it. Which… he wasn't really sure which it was. But Karkat was right. Being hungry for food was a good sign. "… humans eat pizza as actual food, right? Not just a snack?"

Karkat turned to him, disbelief written on his face. "I can't believe you don't even know what we eat. Yes, we eat pizza. Some of us eat a fuckton of pizza. What, are you going to order one?"

Dave shrugged, shifting to turn towards him. "Dude, I don't know shit about humans. I've just seen John get on his phone and order one, then demolish it once it got there."

"And let me guess, you don't actually know how he ordered it."

Dave held up his phone, shaking it a little. "No, just needed to know what kind you like. Dude, do you really think we're that far behind on technology? Have you seen the shit Dirk builds when humans come up with something cool?"

"Pepperoni. And no. I don't want to."

"Your loss." Dave watched Karkat, listening to his breathing and heartbeat. Everything sounded good so far. And wow that heartbeat sounded good. He really should have fed while he was out at that club. Maybe he wouldn't want to bite Karkat so much.

"I have a question." Karkat closed the pantry, looking at him. "How many of you fucks are actually here? In this city? Was that club your hangout or something?"

"Four." That he was willing to admit. Feferi was kind of cool and he knew better than to let anyone know about the heiress. "And no, it's just a place for us to feed easily and safely."

"What, they know what you are and are okay with it?"

"Hell no. Humans like that just think we're really into the whole 'vampire' thing and think we're being really sexy when we bite them."

"Okay then." Karkat came over to the couch, arms crossed. "You know that's creeper behaviour, right?"

Dave shrugged.

And froze as Karkat dumped himself on the couch next to him. "At least you have a tv," he barely heard Karkat say. "Question is do you get Net-"

Both of them froze, Karkat's words suddenly breaking off. He could see Karkat breathing heavily, his nose flaring. Dave could barely think, knowing Karkat could smell him as well as he could smell him. It shouldn't be a problem. He should be fed. He should have not been hungry enough, and been able to stand up. He had someone willing to give him a snack between feedings, Rose Lalonde. He should have told Rose he'd be over.

He should stand up.

Karkat's back hit the couch as Dave pounced. A quick snap, his head moving faster than he thought he could to Karkat's neck, and he could feel his fangs break the skin easily. Blood filled his mouth, perfect, delicious, _Karkat._ He had been wanting to bite him all this time, and now he was. It was perfect. Karkat's hands gripped his shirt, not pulling, as Dave shifted slightly.

There. If he moved like that there, Karkat made noises, making his throat vibrate as Dave drank. Just like that.

Another mouthful and Dave pulled his fangs free. That was enough. He gave the wounds one more lick, savouring the taste. And Karkat was still making those noises as he moved, hips sliding across his. It was so good. It felt so-

Right.

It never felt so right before as he felt Karkat shudder against him.


	6. Day 6

How long had he been laying there? It felt like nothing existed. Time, where he was, even himself- but at the same time he could feel his heart beating hard against his chest. A sense of his body, releasing into ecstasy. But other than that, he couldn't tell where anything was.

Was this what dying felt like?

There were scarier things than dying, a part of him remembered.

But he didn't know what was happening. Everything was fuzz, noise, nothing and everything. A touch of cold against his cheek, and suddenly everything snapped into sickening clarity. He could feel the pain in his throat, blood against his skin. He could feel something sticky in his pants, his release as Dave bit him deeply, pulled everything from him.

Karkat started to shake, and he didn't know why.

"Fuck!" A cold hand touched his forehead, a hiss filling the air. The hand took his, strangely not feeling as cold. "Damn it. I don't fucking know what's going-" The grasp on his hand tightened, painful. "Fucking talk to me, Vantas!"

"Fuck… you…"

Why was he cold?

"Okay. Fuck. Google, don't fail me now. So what the fuck- okay, that sounds right. Okay- fuck no, not calling an ambulance. Blanket, yeah, can do." He felt someone leave, only for something heavy to settle over him. "Karkat, look at me. Look… fuck."

The blur of white and red suddenly sharpened, the only clear thing in the room. Dave, his sunglasses no longer on his nose and his red eyes wide and wild. "What… now…?"

"If the internet, which, as we know never lies. Never. Always t-" Dave shook his head, as if realizing he was babbling. "You're in shock. Which shouldn't- I didn't take that much from you. Keep looking at me, Karkat. Fuck, I'm sorry."

"Am I…" Was he dying? Or… he could feel his heart, beating fast. And something sharp under it. Something having to do with blood, not his blood. Blood-

He could smell blood.

A memory crystallized. Pain at his throat. Dave biting him. The intense reaction, the overwhelming _need_ surging through him. More memories. Dave explaining things. Was this it, then? Was this the thing that made that fucking blood turn him into a vampire? He could feel his heart racing. Didn't Dave say that's what was needed?

Somehow, he found the strength to sit up. Or maybe it was because he was turning into a vampire. Weird, because weren't turned humans supposed to be uncontrollable? He just felt… strange. He felt Dave's hands on his shoulders, trying to lay him back down, but he didn't want to lay down. Despite being in pain, he felt… okay.

"I'm okay," he finally said, hearing how weak his voice was. "I'm… not a vampire? I don't feel like I want to drink blood."

But now that he said it aloud, he realized that… maybe that might not be right. But he wasn't about to attack Dave for it. He could just smell something- he had been smelling Dave's blood under the skin, he realized suddenly. All this time. But right now, while he wanted that… he didn't want to attack him.

"Your eyes are red. I'm not about to believe that."

His eyes were red? "Is that… just a thing vampires have?" Dave's eyes were red… "No, Serket's eyes are blue." A… really unreal shade of blue, but blue.

"All turned humans have red eyes. Blood red. Not like mine." Dave's grip tightened, making Karkat let out a small noise of pain. "… You're not fighting me."

"Yeah, what was the first fucking clue?" Karkat snapped at him. He grunted as Dave let one of his shoulders go, the freed hand going to his chin and lifting it. Dave looked… worried. "What?"

"… I need to call someone."

"Fine, whatever." Karkat managed to lift one hand, touching his neck. It was slick with blood, but he couldn't find any holes. "Your bites heal this fast normally or is this another weirdass thing?"

Dave laughed a little as he picked up his phone. "Yeah. It heals. Not that fast. That might be the least weird thing right now."

  


* * *

  


"What did you do."

"Rose, is that any way to speak to me? How do you know I wasn't just doing the blood version of a booty call?"

"Dave. I am quite aware this is not a booty call, either for blood or sex. It's… 3 :00 in the morning. You are usually quite respectful of my human hours. You called because you did something you shouldn't have."

"Okay, geez, I'll talk before you use both your psych degree and seer powers on me. I uh. Bit someone I shouldn't have and really weird things are happening."

"Such as?"

"Well, first, he's not attacking me. At all. Then his eyes went blood red like a normal turned human, and are now this really fucking intense shade of grey. Like, if he had been born one of us grey. Like yeah, that's not anything approaching maybe a really light blue, that's as grey as _She_ is."

"Hm."

"So uh. Now I'm asking for you to use your seer powers."

"Which I've been doing since I picked up. I don't have an answer for you. There are too many possibilities."

"Fuck."

"Several are possibilities where he lives, Dave. It depends on you and how you move on from here."

_"Fuck."_

"Indeed. Anything else?"

"Nah. That's all I needed to know."

"Hm. And tell Karkat hello for me."

"Fucking hell your seer powers are strong."

"No, I can hear him yelling at you to explain what's going on. Goodbye, Dave."

"Yeah, see ya."

  


* * *

  


"I have no fucking clue what to do," Dave said, dropping his phone on the table.

"How about explaining who you were talking to and what the shit you were talking about? Like I've been asking since you fucking called?"

Okay, how to start. "Rose is a seer. She sees all kinds of timelines, outcomes, that kind of thing. Humans can just sometimes have psychic powers, and Rose is one of them. And there is some really freaking shit happening with you right now."

Karkat frowned. "What was that shit about my eyes?"

"They're definitely not human anymore, that's for sure."

Karkat blinked, and poked a finger into his mouth. "I don't have fangs?" he asked, confused as he prodded his teeth.

He didn't? Dave reached over, pulling his upper lip back to look. No, those were definitely human teeth. "Huh," he said, letting Karkat's lip go. "So I guess this is what Rose meant." He considered Karkat, then the very cold pizza. Then back.

"I'm not about to eat cold pizza," Karkat warned him.

"How about blood?"

Something in Karkat's angry gaze faltered. "I… it kind of sounds not bad right now."

He could feed him. See what happened. If he turned completely.

"I don't want to have to kill you."

"I know. I… I don't want to die."

  


* * *

  


It had been a long day. John couldn't turn his brain off at all about what was happening with Karkat, and what Dave had told them. Was Karkat going to be okay? Was Vriska going to come after him again? Those questions bounced around in his head, strangely in Jade's voice, as he got into his car.

The beach. It was a few hours drive, but it would let him not be home for a while. He didn't have to try to answer any of Jade's questions or force both her and himself to not go over there and maybe make things worse. He did trust Dave! It was just… he remembered how Karkat looked, and he wanted to help. But he also remembered what Karkat tried to do.

The sun was setting by the time he arrived. He could see a group setting up their cars and headlights, probably to hang out or something, but that was about it. John stepped out of his car, and just watched the dark ocean.

He, Jade, and Karkat needed to come out to the beach again sometime, John suddenly thought. Dave too. Have some fun. Pretend the world as they knew it wasn't about to come crashing down around them. That Dave probably would have to kill Karkat because he was a vampire now too.

If Karkat did turn into a vampire and Dave didn't have to kill him, he was going to be his friend. Nothing was going to change. He was still going to be his friend. Karkat would probably make a cool vampire anyway.

Something caught his eye. Away from the group of people steadily getting louder. It looked like… John made his way down the beach, curious. Then gasped as he realized it was a _girl_ , coming out of the ocean, long black hair swaying behind her despite being soaked. She looked like a- "Are mermaids real too?" John wondered aloud to himself.

The girl stopped, a nonplussed look crossing her face as if she heard him. She looked over at him, but she didn't move away, feet still in the water. And yeah, she had feet, not fins, John noticed as he came closer. "What?" she finally asked in a confused but light and bubbly voice.

"You just came out of the ocean like a mermaid or something."

She still looked confused, then angry. "Did Eridan send you? I told him he doesn't need to do this anymore."

Eridan… that rich kid he saw sometimes with Vriska? "No," John said slowly, confused.

"… did Vriska send you, John?"

She knew Vriska. And she knew his name despite this being the first time they met. Fuck. "How do you know my name?"

She tilted her head. "Of course I know your name. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because this is the first time I've met you."

"Oh." She giggled, humour gentling her face in the moonlight. "Oh. I forgot humans don't make sure they know everyone who's living around them."

Well, she wasn't human. "So… why? And how do you know Vriska? Are you… like her with the-" John gestured to his mouth.

The friendliness in her face suddenly shut down. "You shouldn't know that."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have much of a chance not to know after what she did to Karkat."

She blinked, surprise filling her features. "Karkat? But shouldn't he be dead? Vriska said all she had to do was bite him. Without the bite, it should have killed him."

John shook his head. "Dave's taking care of him. He's-" Maybe he shouldn't say the next part.

The girl stood there for a moment, then rushed at him, her feet barely stirring the sand as she moved. John jumped, very aware now he didn't have any way of fighting back since she looked like another vampire, and her hands wrapped around his upper arms tightly. Her eyes were wide and her grin - her very fanged grin - was wider. "He's what? John, what happened? Tell me!"

She had pretty eyes, John thought, dazed at the sudden movements. A breeze picked up, moving her hair as if it wasn't sopping wet. "He's…"

"Did he turn?"

"I don't know?" John said weakly.

"You don't…" She let him go, frowning. "That's a pretty yes or no answer."

"It's… really weird? Who _are_ you?"

Her features went blank again. "Someone you shouldn't have met."

"… are you going to kill me?"

"I really should. But that might be bad for me. And Vriska might need you."

"… why?"

"Well, we do need her mother distracted so we can kill her tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself. I drew some [art of Feferi from chapter 1.](https://twitter.com/vagrantbreath/status/1310421592833495042?s=20) I think she turned out pretty cute!
> 
> And also apparently I needed to make an animation of [ Karkat's eyes doing the thing](https://twitter.com/vagrantbreath/status/1311500640481243138) while bleeding.


	7. Day 7

Feferi couldn't remember the last time she rode in any sort of human vehicle. Maybe Eridan had taken her out a few decades ago. It was… a little disorienting to be moving so fast and not to be doing anything. She might actually feel a little sick.

She could smell John next to her. He smelled… pretty good. Probably a good idea to snack on him once he was done 'giving her a ride.' She would need all the strength possible to go up against an elder. Feferi sighed, leaning forward, the strap across her chest extending as she rested her head on the surface in front of her and looked down at the floor. There, better, she couldn't see everything rush by.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" No, don't let the human know riding in a vehicle made her feel sick.

"Okay… wow, you walked a long way to get to the sea, didn't you? I mean, it takes a few hours by car. And you walked, so-"

Feferi shrugged a little. She was used to the walk. Kept to the shadows. It was a risk, but she didn't like being away from the ocean for too long. A part of her felt comfortable under the water, and she needed to be as clearheaded as possible with what was coming up. "It's not a long walk," she told him.

"Do you move super fast? Like, how fast can you run?"

She really didn't want to answer these questions. Each one brought back memories of Aradia, and the scream she could hear as her house burned down around her. Answering any questions about what she could do, what her people could do and their weaknesses… never again. She was never going to let another human know anything that personal.

"It must be really fast if you don't think it's long. Or maybe you're used to walking further? I mean, I don't know how old you are. You could have had to walk longer when cars didn't exist."

She turned her head slightly to look at him. John looked… nervous?

"But I mean it's rude to ask a lady her age, right? Or is that just a human thing? Do you go around telling people how old you are for, I dunno-"

"You're babbling," she told him.

John swallowed, nodding. "It's just you're the first vampire I met that I didn't already know. And I just found out about Dave and everyone else. I don't know how to really… talk to you."

Feferi lifted her head slightly, trying not to see the scenery fly past behind him. "Vampire?"

He looked over to her briefly, surprise on his face, before turning his attention back forward. "I mean, I know that's kind of-"

"… so that's the English word."

"Oh, you- Your English is really good."

Feferi put her head back down, her stomach sliding. She had known English for decades. But humans kept inventing new words. "Thank you."

"Are you okay? You sound kind of out of it."

"I've never been taken around like this."

"Really? I mean that would- are you getting car sick?"

"What's that?"

"I mean, it's actually called motion sickness. A lot of people have motion sickness. I didn't think vampires would get it, but I guess that's possible too." John's jaw flexed a little. "It's something people get when in cars or planes or something."

Motion sickness. How interesting.

"Man, I hope this isn't going to get you in trouble or anything."

He was nice, she thought. Maybe she wouldn't eat him. Not now.

"Hey, uh… so where am I taking you again?"

Feferi lifted her head, noticing they had slowed down considerably. "Over there," she said, pointing to a dark place.

"That's not- I'll pull into a parking lot." As he did so, he looked over at her. "Maybe after you- take care of Vriska's mom, we can talk?"

She shook her head as John came to a stop. It wasn't as dark as she would like, but it was deserted.

"I had to ask," he said, smiling at her. And how strange, not to see fangs like she saw when Vriska smile like that. "Do you- okay, do you see a button by your hip? Where the seatbelt is going? Push that. I'll open the door for you."

It was nice. Feferi stood once the door was opened, stretching. Then, she looked at John, thinking. She would need the strength. She really would.

"What are you-" Then understanding filled his face. "… will this help you against Vriska's mom?"

Did he actually know? Was he offering? "Yes."

"Vriska hurt my friend because of her mom. If you can make her not have to do that anymore… go ahead."

The last word had barely left his lips when Feferi snapped forward, sinking her fangs deeply into John's neck.

  


* * *

  


"Oh wow, your eyes are… really different."

Karkat rubbed one eye, not sure if Jade saw red or grey. Either way, Karkat had seen his new grey eyes in a mirror and yeah, that was not anything close to human. "What are you doing here?"

She held up a bag, grinning widely. "Breakfast!"

His stomach grumbled, reminding him he hadn't really eaten anything that was food and not junk in a while. "Yeah, fine." He reached out for the bag, only for Jade to pull it back. "What the fuck?"

"I'm not going to let you take this and shut me out. I'm going to eat with you."

Karkat rolled his eyes, but opened the door fully. And regretted it immediately as Jade took that as an excuse to hug him. But… he pulled her in close, almost clinging to her. She was something from before all this shit with Vriska. She was still normal.

"Oh." Jade shifted slightly, the hug pulling him closer. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier," she murmured. "My dumb brother thought I shouldn't come over."

For a moment, Karkat couldn't say anything, emotion strangling his voice. Finally, he said, "John had a smart moment. I probably would have hurt you."

"You wouldn't."

She sounded so sure it hurt. "Heh."

Jade pulled back. "Let's heat this up. I'm hungry too."

Karkat nodded, then looked over at the kitchen. "Maybe you can get that piece of shit to work."

She walked over to it, frowning as she poked at the microwave. "I don't think it even works anymore. Do they even use it?"

He snorted. "Considering the only food I've seen are cookies and shit, probably not."

Jade's eyes went wide. "They eat cookies? Is that… good? For them?"

"Fuck if I know."

She giggled, and proceeded to tear the kitchen apart looking for… something. It was enough noise he was surprised it took so long for one of the occupants to come out, Dirk standing there for a moment, visibly processing things. It was really fucking weird to see his shades off, because that was a shade of orange that shouldn't exist. "Don't make so much noise," he finally said.

"Oh!" Jade spun around, surprise on her face. "I didn't mean to- wake you up?"

"Why are you here?"

Jade pointed to the bag. "Breakfast."

Dirk looked at her for a few minutes, then walked over to the one cabinet she hadn't going through yet and pulled out some plates, then reached into a drawer and pulled out some forks. "Keep it down," he told her.

"Okay." Her eyes were wide as she watched Dirk leave. "Oh wow. He has a nice ass."

Choking on air was a thing, Karkat realized. "Please don't perv on these assholes."

She waved a hand. "It's just harmless looking! And I've seen him with someone. Pretty sure he's gay."

"That doesn't make it any better."

Jade just smiled at him, and dumped some food from her bag onto a plate. "Here!"

"… you got this from-"

"Shh! Doesn't matter where I got it from. Eat."

Karkat rolled his eyes, knowing full well it was fast food breakfast. But he took the plate and fork, and took a bite of the runny eggs. And another. And then started shovelling it down his throat. He didn't realize just how hungry he had felt until he had actual real food. Once the plate was clean, he wiped his mouth and burped softly.

"Wow, you were hungry." Jade smiled, taking the plate from him. "… that's good, right? That means you'll be okay?"

He didn't know. Yeah, he felt better with food in his stomach, but he… he could smell Jade. Not just her soap, but- that had to be her blood he smelled. And it didn't help that his eyes were this unreal shade of grey, not normal.

"Don't you have things to do? Take care of dogs or whatever you do?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Jade placed her hands on her hips, frowning. "…fartface."

That made Karkat laugh. "Yeah, yeah."

Jade hugged him again, then stepped away. "I can't wait until you can come home!"

He had to push her away, because-

He really wanted to bite her.

  


* * *

  


Feferi should be there soon, Vriska thought. Everything should be in place.

"What are you still doing here?" her mother asked as she walked out into the hall, freshly dressed for the night, her clothes and makeup perfect.

"No."

"I thought you grew out of this, Vriska."

She stamped a foot, the words digging under her. "I said no! I am not going to let you put us in danger again just for- for whatever you're wanting to do! You've made us move so much because you can't keep your fucking hunger in check and keep picking people who will be missed. And I'm sick of it. So again, no!"

The backhand was completely expected. Vriska let her head twist as the blow hit her, then slowly looked back at her mother. Not touching where it had hit. No. Not showing any weakness.

"You have no authority or power to tell me what to do."

"And I don't have to do what you say anymore."

All her attention was on Vriska. This had to work. It _had_ to. Feferi was behind her, her weapon in hand. Ready to strike. _It had to work._

Except that her mother turned just as Feferi struck, grabbing her trident with one hand and shoving her with the other. Feferi flew across the room, landing hard against the wall. "Little heiress trying to be _Her_?"

Feferi stood slowly, grinning. "No. Just keeping my people safe, Mindfang."

At the sound of her title, her mother threw the trident to one side. "If you think you have the right to use that, heiress, then you have to earn it."

She was going to kill Feferi, Vriska realized, even as Feferi darted forward. With a sudden burst of anger, Vriska dove for the trident, turning as she saw her mother throw Feferi into the floor. Feferi rolled to her feet, but not fast enough. Not fast enough.

Vriska threw the trident. She knew it was going to be batted aside, but as long as Feferi got it. As long as she didn't look at Feferi. As she expected, her mother batted it aside, turning to her. Before she could move, her mother rushed to her side, shoving her into the wall. Something gave, and bent, and went though her left arm. She looked down, seeing a piece of wood sticking through her arm. "Maybe this will teach you," she heard her mother say as a hand pushed her head up.

Then screamed as she felt the sharp points of her mother's nails enter her left eye.

Out of all the injuries she had in her life, having an eye skewered wasn't one of them until now.

Her mother let her go, turning. "Now for you, you little brat-"

Her words cut off as Vriska wrenched herself free, falling on her. Vriska twisted, using her right hand to slam into the wall and pull the wood beam free. She couldn't aim well, not like this, but she managed to shove it right through her mother's stomach, pinning her. "Don't you fucking touch her," she managed.

When Vriska sat back, Feferi was there, trident raised.

And down, through her mother's heart.

"Vriska. Vriska, you-" She felt Feferi steady her, hearing a watery noise under the bubbly voice. When she looked over at her, was… was she crying?

"I wasn't going to let her hurt you."

Feferi screwed up her face, shoving her hair over her shoulder and pulling Vriska to her neck. "And I made her pay for hurting you. Now bite me so you heal."

That made Vriska laugh, even as she bit deeply into Feferi's skin.


	8. Day 8

"Well, you haven't tried to attack anyone that's come by and you've eaten food," Dirk started, crossing his arms. "I don't know what the fuck happened, but it doesn't look like we have to kill you. I've never seen anyone as sensitive to our blood as you _not_ turn."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "So does that mean I can go home?"

He could see Dirk hesitate. "I shouldn't have let Dave stay alone with you," he muttered. "I really have no idea what you're about to do. You could be- damn it."

"I want to live my fucking life," Karkat told him, his voice rising. "Is that too fucking much to ask?"

"It's not." Dirk looked at him, and for the first time in ever he noticed that Dirk… didn't really breathe. At a time that a sigh would have told him that Dirk was thinking or anything… and he didn't breathe.

Karkat forced himself to take a breath, suddenly dizzy. Was he still breathing? Was he still-

And Dirk twitched just as he took in a breath.

Fuck.

Karkat looked over at the couch. Where Dave had pinned him, biting him, letting his blood run free. And a part of him _understood_. He forced himself to take another breath, not sure if he was actually breathing unless he did it himself. But he wanted out. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see-

_His friends._

Something jerked inside of him. Something that _understood._ Something that had always understood.

Breathe. He needed to-

He was going to pass out.

Except he didn't. He felt two points of cold on his arms, probably Dirk's hands, but he didn't pass out. None of this should be happening. He shouldn't have been out with Vriska, he shouldn't be with two fucking vampires, he shouldn't be wanting to bite Dirk-

A growl ripped its way free from his throat and he pushed Dirk back. It wasn't far - he wasn't super freaky fucking strong - but it was enough. "You've been lying to me," he growled. "All this- you know why! Even if Dave doesn't know, you do. You know why I haven't been like the other fucking humans out there that have turned!"

"I have no fucking clue!" Dirk threw his hands up in the air. "It's like you're reacting both like you're turned and you were born into it. And that doesn't make any…" Dirk blinked. "It makes no sense."

"Yeah, no shit assmunch!"

"No, literally, this is impossible. Even if you're sensitive to it, you should have just changed no matter what. And I don't think you have any-" Dirk's eyes widened. "It's either a mutation or you have one of us in your family tree," he finally said.

"I would know if I had one of your fuckers in my family tree," Karkat snapped back. "Wouldn't that be really fucking obvious? Oh yes, look here, your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Kankri was…" Wait. "What the fuck is that look for?"

"It's nothing."

"Oh yes, because I'm going to believe that after you have that look on your face like I fucking said something important."

"I should have known," Dirk muttered to himself. "Vantas. _Vantas._ The fucking _Signless._ "

"What the fuck?! The Signless? What the fuck is that? And why is my last name a thing now?"

"I didn't think about it because he went to ground so long ago," Dirk continued to mutter. "But he did have a- fuck!"

Threads were being connected, and he didn't like it. "He- he couldn't- wouldn't Vriska and her fucking mother know? You're talking about my last name like it's fucking holy or something. Wouldn't they have known if it meant something? And how the hell can I have one of you fucks in my- I was told Kankri was just _weird_ , that's why I thought of him first!"

Dirk looked at him. "Because no one knows the parents of the Signless, Kankri Vantas."

  


* * *

  


"We're going to have to move eventually," Vriska told Feferi. It was strange, only seeing her through one eye. She traced the healing bites marring Feferi's skin with her right hand. "Humans are going to start wondering where my mom is. Killing all of them when they come and just find her bones and us is going to be boring."

"I know." Feferi's voice came out hushed as she cupped Vriska's face.

"Then what's that look for?"

"I want to kill her again for what she did to you."

Something inside her tightened. After seeing Feferi fly like that, knowing she was going to be killed, she would kill her mother again just for that. "Heh. Little princess has some sharp fangs."

Feferi laughed, and pulled her close. Her lips were soft, much softer than Vriska expected. But it didn't matter. She could taste something that was the hint of her last meal, surrounded by something uniquely Feferi. It was perfect.

There was an emotion twisting her that had no words, but it didn't matter.

"We should get moving," Feferi whispered against her lips.

Neither of them moved.

  


* * *

  


"Hey, so, can Karkat come home now?"

"Yes," Karkat snapped before Dave could say anything. He would do anything now to get away from them. After Dirk decided to insinuate that maybe his fucking weird ancestor had maybe also been a fucking vampire, he couldn't stay there anymore. It didn't matter anymore. "I'm going home now and I don't fucking care."

He could tell Dave was side-eying him, but John's face brightened. "Awesome! Jade and I really missed you."

"Yeah, yeah, let's get out of here." Before the vampire could shake off his sleepiness from being awake from the day and saying something about it. He forced himself to breathe normally as he got together the clothes John had brought him, shoving them under his arm and barging past them. "You can do the touchy feely friends thing later. Home now."

John protested as Karkat yanked him down the stairs, wanting to get as far away as he could. When they got to the parking lost, he couldn't see his own shitheap of a car (they must have dropped it off at his home while he was puking up everything, he thought for a moment), but he saw John's. He pulled on the car door, just right after he heard it unlock.

Something was not right as soon as he sat down. There was a smell. Ocean, which made sense because he could see grains of sand on the floor. John must have gone out to the beach at some point. There was something else, though. Something he didn't-

It bothered him as John got in next to him, absently buckling up as the car started.

"Jade and I really missed you," John said. "It's too quiet without you."

Karkat tuned out the chatter, trying to figure out what was bothering him about the smell. It wasn't like John's car really smelled. He took care of it, unlike his own shitheap. But it was something really weird. Kind of fishy? But not really. And it had a hint of something underneath it, familiar.

"And I think Jade's cooking something really special for dinner-"

Blood. He could smell blood. He could smell John's blood. And it wasn't under his skin. It was-

He looked over at John's seatbelt.

Right there, where it rested near his throat, was a slight bloodstain.

Someone had bit John.

"And Roxy called yesterday to say- Karkat? What's wrong?"

That's what it was. He could smell another vampire. Someone had sat next to John, had _bitten_ him… "Who was it?"

"Huh?"

"The asshole who bit you. Was it Vriska?"

John hunched in as far as he could while driving. "It wasn't Vriska. I shouldn't- she said not to let anyone know she was here."

Karkat blinking. Dave had said there were four- was there someone else that he didn't know about? Or maybe the asshole had lied to him, which… after all that had happened and how long it took to get it out of him what he was, and then having to find out today that maybe Kankri had been more than just fucking weird-

"I don't know who she is. Just- that she and Vriska were going to kill Vriska's mom."

"Wait, hold the fuck on. You're telling me that some random vampire said not to tell anyone she's here, that she was going to kill Vriska's mom, which was pretty much exactly what we need here, and you _bought that horseshit_? And what, did you let her bite you?"

John managed to hunch down further.

"You fucking idiot! She could have been lying to you just to have a meal!"

"I believe her," John told him.

"Why? Why the fuck would you believe a random vampire?!"

"I just do."

Something snapped inside Karkat. As soon as John put the car in park, he lunged for him, seizing him by the hair, a chant of _mineminemine_ overtaking everything else. He was too trusting. He let vampires sit next to him without thinking. He was _so stupidly trusting._

The taste of blood was heaven.

  


* * *

  


" _Fuck_!"

Jade grinned. That was a familiar voice, and a familiar word. She bounded out the door, grinning widely. "Hey Karkat, I'm-"

No. No, no.

This wasn't right.

"Karkat…?"

His grey eyes met hers, a stark contrast to John's blood staining his face.

John looked okay, holding his throat, not bleeding too much-

"Fuck," Jade whispered.


	9. Day 9

He was not going to invoke Jade's wrath by running away. Karkat slumped in the kitchen chair and looked over at John's neck, watching Jade tend to it and trying very hard not to notice how fast that bite was healing. He had no idea if that was something about him and apparently his really fucking weird family line or something he really didn't want to know about John's. And he was making extra fucking sure not to pay any attention to how good John's blood tasted.

There was no fucking way he was going back to the Striders, though. He felt… wrong there. Maybe it was some mystical territorial vampire bullshit, or maybe just the fact he had been kept there for a whole fucking week to make sure he wasn't about to snap and start killing everyone around him. No, he just… Karkat placed a hand over his mouth, the familiar nausea rising up. He could feel his breath speed up which, hey, he was breathing without forcing himself to. But at the same time, just everything that happened in John's car…

"Okay, now for you." Karkat looked up as Jade stepped in front of him. It was time. She was going to yell at him, make him feel an inch tall and wish she got her rifle. "All you needed to do was ask, you dumbfart."

Huh? Karkat blinked at her. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said! You can just ask me or John for some blood, silly." Behind her, John opened his mouth, then closed it as she pointed at Karkat. "And I want you to ask! No starving yourself because of a dumb reason."

"Oh my fucking god of course you think that way." Karkat slapped both hands over his eyes, trying to work through what had happened and how to explain it to Jade. She worked with dogs so much she practically acted like one. She might get it the territorial bullshit he felt when he learned someone had bitten John.

And there it was, the anger about _that_ bullshit. Four. That meant Dave, Dirk, Vriska, and he was damn certain the last one was Eridan after how Vriska had told him hands off. That, or he meant Vriska's mom. So that meant Dave had lied to him and there were more vampires than just fucking four. Unless he wasn't counting Vriska's mom which meant hey, he already fucked up!

"Well, how else am I supposed to react? I know you didn't try to kill him because you stopped yourself. So you were just hungry. And that's why I say all you have to do is ask!"

"It wasn't that, Jade," Karkat snarled at her. "Why don't you ask him who else chomped on him?"

That made Jade stop, and turn to her twin. "What is he-" She stopped at John's guilty face. "John?"

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, probably doing that weird twin thing he had seen them do. Jade broke eye contact first, shaking her head. "You know what? This is useless." As she spoke, she fished her phone out of her pocket and started typing.

"Um, Jade-"

"I'm already upset with you, so don't start!"

  


* * *

  


gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

GG: you have a lot of explaining to do mister!!!!  
TG: thats a great thing to wake up to  
TG: all that beauty sleep wasted  
TG: completely down the drain  
TG: also i noticed a really awesome and handsome guest isnt here anymore  
TG: you wouldnt happen to know where karkat is would you  
GG: hes here with us.  
GG: but thats not why im talking to you! someone bit john and he wont tell me who. :(  
GG: and i think you know who it is!  
TG: wait hold on karkat is where and someone bit john  
TG: was it some prissy asshole with a scarf  
TG: please tell me it was some prissy asshole with a scarf  
TG: ive always wanted a reason to punch him  
GG: no, he says it was a girl in a really pretty sounding skirt.  
GG: dave? hellooo?  
GG: hey! :( dumb butt vampire! :(  
TG: has he told anyone  
GG: why?  
TG: dddffffkllllkd..;oi;ajsk  
TG: Answer the question, Jade. Did he tell anyone other than you?  
GG: uhhhhhh…  
TG: Your life may depend on it. If She shows up because of this, you could lose everything. Answer the question so Dave and I know what we need to do.  
GG: dirk???  
GG: uh. john says no. he said she asked him not to.  
GG: dirk, whos She?  
GG: hellooooo????  
TG: fucking big brothers taking serious shit seriously  
TG: dont tell anyone about her okay jade  
TG: a lot of shit will go down if you  
TG: death  
TG: complete annihilation of everything you know and love  
TG: another season of keeping up with the kardashians  
TG: have you ever watched an episode of keeping up with the kardashians  
GG: who is she? youre really intense about making sure no one knows about her.  
TG: well yeah  
TG: wasnt a knight back in 1118 for nothing  
GG: you were a knight??? :O  
TG: yeah got to wear all the fancy armour and everything  
TG: also why is karkat over there  
GG: well...  


  


* * *

  


"I think humans call this love."

Feferi murmured questioningly, mostly asleep.

"Nah. Whatever."

  


* * *

  


"I don't think John's going to tell anyone," Dave said from his seat, finally looking up from his phone. "Seems like Feferi really beat it into him that he shouldn't tell anyone."

"What the hell was Feferi thinking?"

"I don't know. What the hell were your thinking letting Karkat just go like that?"

"Honestly? Because he's not a threat. He's not going to turn. He can't."

"The fuck does that mean?"

Dirk crossed his arms. "You remember the weird ass guy way back when who would preach and preach and eventually went to ground? Kankri?"

"I mean. Yeah. I think everyone heard of him. What's so important about that weirdo?"

"Because one: no one knows who his parents were, because they weren't also our kind. And two: Karkat's his descendant."

"Hold the fuck on. So because of that, Karkat-" Dave stood. "We need to go over there now. He doesn't know- anything! He doesn't know anything. Hunting, any of that."

"Whoa, hold on there. Why are you so intent on this? Hell, why did you even save him from Vriska to begin with? Was it really John?"

Dave faltered. "Yeah, I mean, of course. He's my friend."

"And you kept him here without killing him because of John."

"Dirk, c'mon."

"And you thought with your dick and bit him because you're friends with John."

"Where the fuck are you going with this?"

Dirk looked away, turning his head towards the door. "I don't want you to get obsessed. It doesn't end well."

He didn't need to say it. Jake's name hung heavy over the silence. Dave suddenly felt exhausted and the night had barely started. "I'm not obsessed."

"Then leave him alone for a bit. Don't make my mistakes."

"So what? Wait for him to kill someone? Wait for him to kill _John _?"__

____

____

"I don't think he will."

Dave stared at him, then snorted. "Whatever. If he kills John, I'll kill you."

"I know."

So now all they could do was… wait.

And watch.

"I really fucking hate waiting."

"I know."

  


* * *

  


"So?"

Karkat twitched from his chair, turning to look over at John. "What?" he snapped.

"How'd I taste?" John leaned in the doorway of his room, looking far too chipper and pleased for what just happened. "And are you hungry again? I can get Jade."

"Not answering, no, and no."

"C'mon…"

"Look, I could have killed you. Are you aware of that? I could have drained your blood over something as simple as there's a vampire out there that doesn't want people that knows about you and she bit you?"

"You wouldn't have killed me," John said confidently. "You stopped yourself really fast."

"And you want to risk your life on that? On that I won't ever kill you?" He should have stayed with the Striders. Except not, because it just felt… wrong. He should move out. Get whatever money he had left and hole up in a hotel, away from the twins and the feelings of _mineminemine_.

"Yup." John grinned. "You're basically the same crabby Karkat as before anyway. You just need blood. And how cool is that? I have a vampire roommate!"

"You're an idiot."

John just grinned.

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"Well then, I guess you need to stick around so no one kills me!"

"That's not how that-" Karkat sighed. "You're a fucking idiot and I don't know where your sense of preservation went to because it sure as fuck hasn't shown itself in the last few days. But you're going to hunt me down and drag me back by my hair if I try to leave so you know what? I think I'm going to stay right here and just avoid that whole stupid scene. Just don't get yourself chomped on by that girl again. Or any other vampire. That means me too, doofus."

"Aw, you care about me!"

"Don't you dare hug- GODDAMN IT."

Maybe he'd stay a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another picture drawn, [this time of when Feferi fed from John](https://twitter.com/vagrantbreath/status/1313313617811472384). I also added it into chapter 7 so enjoy!
> 
> And I think that's this story told! Does it have more than can be done in this universe with Karkat dealing with his new vampirism, Vriska and Feferi realizing there is fallout from killing an elder, and more ideas I have scheming? Well, aren't those what sequels are for? ;)


End file.
